The Need for Real Music

A MESSAGE TO ARTISTS WHO BUY BEATS ONLINE

The video above is an old one and you’ve probably seen it before if you’ve ever visited my site. However I wanted to use it to illustrate a point. This is a pet peeve of mine so forgive me if I get emotional. Here’s the thing: producers/beatmakers need to STOP getting on youtube posting tutorial videos and beat making videos where they are drawing in notes with a mouse. Seriously? I’ve seen so many producers with videos on youtube featuring some kind of beat they’re making in FL Studio (particularly rap beats) and they’re creating chords and melodies with their mouse. STOP IT!

I understand and appreciate that technology has provided software that’s user-friendly and gives more people a chance to make beats and potentially make a living from them by promoting them to artists who buy beats online, or at least have a creative outlet. However, if you’re going to exhibit yourself, supposedly as a professional, then go the extra mile and improve your music skills so that you can really justify putting out a video which is supposed to help or inspire. Don’t get me wrong here. In the privacy of your own home studio feel free to use the mouse all you want to edit those keyboard parts to make them sound more complicated than your playing skills allow for. On video, for the world to see? Please cut that shit out.

Artists probably don’t care. When they come to buy beats online, as long as the beat sounds good they don’t wonder if you used a mouse. The issue is not whether you use a mouse, it’s using the mouse on video that gets me. The problems with drawing with a mouse are:

There is no natural, human flourish to the keyboard parts

Chords sound rigid and robotic

After using a mouse what you would need to do is, if you understand how natural keyboard parts should sound, edit the placement and velocity of the notes so that it sounds more realistic. Try also to use more authentic sounding virtual instruments if you’re trying to emulate piano, guitar etc (another pet peeve for another post).

Let me say again if artists do come to your site and buy beats, and you’re using a mouse, that’s fine as long as the beats sound good. If you’re doing videos however, please take the time out to learn some basic playing skills. Go on Google and search the Circle of Fifths, chord progressions and the formulae for minor and major scales. It really isn’t that hard!

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